Pre-assembled door and casing therefor



J n-31,1961 RMHAENDKBES 3,3 ,8

FEE-ASSEMBLED DOOR AND CASING THEREFOR Filed April 26, 1966 INVENTORROGER M.HAENDIGES ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,301,820 PRE-ASSEMBLEDDOOR AND CASING THEREFOR Roger M. Haendiges, 12700 Lake Road, Lakewood,Ohio 44107 Filed Apr. 26, 1966, Ser. No. 545,329 7 Claims. (Cl. 206-60)This invention relates generally to a pre-assembled door and casing and,more particularly, to an improved clip for securing the door and thecasing together in spaced relationship.

As a labor-saving-device, and to facilitate shipping, it has becomecustomary in the field of aluminum storm doors, to pre-assemble thedoors and the casings therefor. In such pre-assembled units, one side ofthe door is secured to the casing by means of conventional, spacedlyarranged, hinges. At the opposite side of the door, between the sideframe thereof and the adjacent casing, as well as between the top frameand the corresponding casing member, there are disposed at spacedintervals a number of clips which extend between and are rigidly securedto the two structures to hold the same together in a fixed, spaced,relationship. A representative illustration of prior art devices may befound in Patent No. 2,917,790.

In these prior art devices, the spacer and connecting clip is ofgenerally L-shaped configuration and for the purpose of pre-assemblingthe door and the casing, one leg of the clip is tightly screwed to thecasing and the other leg extending at right angle to the first isscrewed, or otherwise mechanically connected, to the inside wall of thedoor frame. To secure this type of clip it is neces sary to drill intothe inside wall of the door frame suitable holes to receive thefastening screw. The clip devices of the prior art have outwardlyprotruding extensions, particularly the screw heads thereof, and fre-'quently are covered with soft padding material to prevent scratching ofother units during shipping.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an improvedpre-assembled door and casing and in which the spacer clip and securingdevice avoids the shortcomings of the prior art.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a preassembledunit of the type above described in which the spacer and securing clipis fastened to the door frame and casing without the need for screws orsimilar attaching means.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a preassembled unitof the type above described in which the clip is under tension to holdthe parts together.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a preassembledunit of the type above described wherein the need for openings in theinside wall of the door frame or in the casing is eliminated, therebyavoiding to make the door or casing unsightly in parts and, moreover,eliminating the labor required to make the openings.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a preassembled doorand easing therefor in which the two structures are spacedly connectedby means of a resilient snap-on spacer and securing clip therebyeliminating the need for fastening screws and the labor involvedtherewith.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a preassembledunit of the type described in the preceding paragraph in which thesnap-on clip is composed of a material which is relatively soft andtherefore will not scratch or otherwise harm articles that may bearagainst the preassembled door.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a preassembledunit of the type above described in which the clip has a smooth surfaceand works without screws or other fastening devices that normallyprotrude outwardly, thereby preventing the deleterious effectsfrequently experienced with the devices of the prior art.

One aspect of the present invention resides in the provision of apreassembled door and casing in which the casing has a mounting frameadjacently positioned on the sides and across the top of the door. Theframe of the casing includes a jam b portion and an angularly relatedouter flange. The door includes a frame member which has an outer wallportion extending in the same plane as the outer flange and an angularlyrelated inner wall portion which faces the jam-b portion in asubstantially uniformly spaced relationship. A snap-on clip is providedfor spacedly securing the mounting casing to the door; the clipcomprises a body of resilient material telescoped under tension over anentire transverse section of the mounting frame and the door frame, oneend of the clip being secured to the outer wall and the opposite endsecured to the outer flange. A spacer flange on the clip extends atsubstantially right angle to the major plane of the clip andintermediate to the ends and between said jamb portion and the innerwall.

For a better understanding of the present invention, together with otherand further objects thereof, reference is had to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and itsscope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the preassembled door andcasing;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional plan view taken along lines 2-2 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the snap-on spacer and securing clipin accordance with this invention; and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 showing a clip of the type hereinunder consideration used in conjunction with the top portion of the doorand casing.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a door 10 of generallyrectangular configuration having suitably connected side, top and bottomframe sections 12, 13, 14, 16, which serve to enclose a number of centerpanels 18 of the transparent and translucent type. In pre-assembledcondition, a mounting casing comprising sections 22, 23, 24 is placed inspaced juxtaposition to the door frame near the sides and the topsections thereof as hereinafter further described.

The door frame 13 is spacedly secured to the casing frame 24 by means ofhinges 26, one leg thereof being screwed to the door frame 13 and theother to the casing 24 in the conventional manner.

The door and casing as broadly described above are well known in the artand do not, per se, form part of the present invention.

In prea'ssembling the door structure it is desirable to secure the doorframe and the mounting frame together in such a manner so as to enable aworkman to install the structure without having to align the variousparts relative to each other. For this reason there are provided aplurality of securing and spacer clips which in addition to mounting thetwo parts together also place them in a predetermined, spaced,relationship. The improved spacer and securing clip is shown inassembled condition in FIGURE 2.

Referring now specifically to FIGURE 2, the door frame 12 is composed ofa hollow, longitudinally elongated, structure including a partlyserrated outer wall 30 terminating at the extreme transverse end, remotefrom the mounting frame 22, with acurved end wall 32 and pan angularlyrelated abutment 34 extending therefrom adapted to receive the sash 19for panels 18. An inner wall 36 connects to abutment 34 and extendsparallel to the outer wall 30. and an inside wall 38 forms the finalpart of the enclosure connecting walls 30 and 36. An intermediateportion of the inside wall 38 projects inwardly at an angle of about 45.

. The casing 22' includes an outer flange 40 serrated on the front faceand extending a plurality of longitudinally extending ridges at theopposite back face thereof and at right angle to the flange a jambportion 42 spaced from the inside wall 38 of the door frame 12. Thefront face of the flange 40 is arranged in the same plane as andsubstantially flush With the front face of the outer wall 30. Contiguousto the jamb portion 42 and turned at right angle thereto in a directionopposite to the flange 40 is a hollow, longitudinally extending,retaining edge adapted also for receiving a weather seal (not shown).Upon closing the door, the same is engaged by and abuts the edge 44. Inassembled condition, the mounting frame 22 is attached to a stud 46, orlike member, which forms part of the building structure.

The clip, in accordance with this invention, see FIG- URE 3, is composedof a flat body of resilient material, such as plastic, and moreparticularly includes leg portions 48 and 50. The leg portion 48 istelescoped over the outer flange 40 of the mounting frame and leg 50 istelescoped over the outer flange 30 of the frame 12. The terminal,transverse, end of the leg 48 is provided with an inwardly curvedsnap-on retaining edge 52 adapted to partly enclose the outer edge ofthe outer wall 40. The opposite end of the clip 28 is also inwardlycurved to provide a snap-on retaining edge 54 partly enclosing theirregularly shaped terminal end portion 32 of the outer wall 30. Theretaining edge 54 has a short extension 56 extending parallel to themajor plane of the clip 28 and portions of wall section 34. The angularrelation of the extension 56 to the edge 54 facilitates the anchoring ofthe retaining edge to the corner defined by wall section 32 and 34.

Intermediate to the snap-on retaining edges 52 and 54 and between theleg portions 48 and 50 there is located, contiguous and at right angleto said leg portions, a spacer flange 58 which is inserted between theinside wall 38 and the jamb portion 42. The end of the spacer flange 58is provided with a flange 60 turned inwardly and parellei to portion 39of wall 38 and bears thereagainst. The flange 60 is not required to makethe clip operative, and more specifically the clip can be used withoutit as the function of holding the door frame and casing together iscarried out by the retaining edges 54, 56 and 52 and any benefit derivedfrom the action of the flange 60 is purely incidental. The prime purposeof the flange 60 is to prevent slack in the tension between the ends ofthe clip 28.

In order to assemble and space the door frame 12 and the mounting casing22 relative to each other and secure the same together, the edge 54, 56is telescoped over wall portion 32 and the leg 50 is brought to bearagainst the outer wall 30. Due to the resiliency of the material, thespacer flange 58 will snap into position and the flange 60 will come tobear against the wall 38. The door is then closed and the leg 48 istelescoped over the outer flange of the casing 22. Slight pressure isthen brought to bear upon the curved end of leg 48 bending the leg 48slightly thereby telescoping the edge 54 over the outer flange 40. Suchaction will snap the clip into place and establish tension between theends. It is also possible to insert the spacer flange 58 between theframe 12 and the mounting frame 22 and thereafter telescope the legs 50and 48 over the respective structures and by means of snap actiontelescope the respective ends of the clip over the transverse ends ofthe door and casing bar.

After installation of the door, the clip 28 can be readily removedwithout any special tools by lifting one end of the retaining edges torelieve the tension between the opposite-ends of the clip. I

Experience has shown that it suffices to place two clips along the sideframe of the door and casing and one clip along the upper portion of thedoor. 4

A modification of the clip above described is-shown in FIGURE 4. Thecontour and the design of the various structural members comprising thedoor varies at times. The invention however can be adapted for numerousconfigurations. The essential elements of clip 28 are above discussed.The embodiment in FIGURE 4 merely serves to illustrate that the clip canbe provided with a bulge 70 which is telescoped over a protrudingportion of the mounting frame (or the door frame not shown) withoutafiecting the effectiveness of the invention.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be thepreferred embodiments of this invention, it will be obvious to thiseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madetherein without departing from the invention, and it is aimed,therefore, in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a pre-assembled door and easing, the casing having a mountingframe adjacently positioned on the sides and across the top of saiddoor, said frame including a jamb portion and an angularly related outerflange, and the door including a frame member having an outer wallportion extending in the same plane as said outer flange and anangularly related inner wall portion facing said jamb portion in asubstantially uniformly spaced relationship, and clip means for spacedlysecuring the mounting frame to the door frame, said clip meanscomprising a body of resilient material telescoped under tension over anentire transverse section of the mounting frame and the door frame, oneend of said clip being secured to said outer wall and the opposite endbeing secured to said outer flange; and a spacer flange extending atsubstantially right angle to the major plane of the clip andintermediate to the said ends and between said jamb portion and saidinner wall.

2. A pre-assembled door and easing according to claim 1, wherein the endof the clip means telescoped over the outer wall of the door frameterminates substantially adjacent to the extreme transverse end of saidouter wall remote from said inner wall portion.

3. A pre-assembled door and easing according to claim 1, wherein the endof the clip means telescoped over the outer flange of the mounting frameterminates substantially adjacent to the extreme transverse end of saidouter flange remote from said jamb portion.

4. A pre-assernbled door and casing according to claim 1, wherein eachof said ends of said clip means is provided withan inwardly curvedsnap-on retaining edge adapted to bear against the said respectivetransverse ends of the mounting frame and the door frame.

5. A pre-assembled door and casing according to claim 1, wherein theinside wall of the door frame includes an inwardly extending portion,and wherein the end of said spacer flange is turned in the direction ofsaid inwardly extending portion and bears against it.

6. A pre-assembled door and casing according to claim- 3, wherein saidouter flange is provided with a bulge 10-- cated adjacent to butextending in opposite direction from said spacer flange.

7. A pre-assembled door and easing according to claim- 4, wherein saidclip is composed of plastic-like material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,911,095 11/1959Hutch 206-60 2,917,790 12/1959 Espenschied 206-60 3,205,982 9/ 1965Chimienti 20660 3,231,076 1/1966 Freiman 206-46 LOUIS G. MANCENE,Primary Examiner. WILLIAM T. DIXSON, JR., Examiner.

1. IN A PRE-ASSEMBLED DOOR AND CASING, THE CASING HAVING A MOUNTINGFRAME ADJACENTLY POSITIONED ON THE SIDES AND ACROSS THE TOP OF SAIDDOOR, SAID FRAME INCLUDING A JAMB PORTION AND AN ANGULARLY RELATED OUTERFLANGE, AND THE DOOR INCLUDING A FRAME MEMBER HAVING AN OUTER WALLPORTION EXTENDING IN THE SAME PLANE AS SAID OUTER FLANGE AND ANANGULARLY RELATED INNER WALL PORTION FACING SAID JAMB PORTION IN ASUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP, AND CLIP MEANS FOR SPACEDLYSECURING THE MOUNTING FRAME TO THE DOOR FRAME, SAID CLIP MEANSCOMPRISING A BODY OF RESILIENT MATERIAL TELESCOPED UNDER TENSION OVER ANENTIRE TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE MOUNTING FRAME AND THE DOOR FRAME, ONEEND OF SAID CLIP BEING SECURED TO SAID OUTER WALL AND THE OPPOSITE ENDBEING SECURED TO SAID OUTER FLANGE; AND A SPACER FLANGE EXTENDING ATSUBSTANTIALLY RIGHT ANGLE TO THE MAJOR PLANE OF THE CLIP ANDINTERMEDIATE TO THE SAID ENDS AND BETWEEN SAID JAMB PORTION AND SAIDINNER WALL.